I'm pretty excited

This is a discussion on I'm pretty excited within the Defensive Rifles & Shotgun Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; Well, today I bought a New Remington 870 Express Tactical. It has the 2 round extension on it and came with a trigger lock. I ...

Nice HD weapon for sure. Low Recoil 00Buck is definitely appropriate for Home Defense situations; some will tell you it is most appropriate. As far as your wife using it, just get her out the range. Start her out with 8 shot, then once she is comfortable with it, move up to the buckshot. Shotgunning is a great time, so I take my girlfriend out and we shoot clays. Gets her comfortable with the shotgun, and it gives me peace of mind.

I'm looking forward to getting out to the range with it. When I got it today, it was too late to make it down there. Luckily, Wal-Mart has plenty of cheap shotgun ammo so I can get a bunch and go break this thing is.

As far as over-penetration, I have 3 kids in 3 separate rooms throughout the house and I don't want one of them getting injured. We haven't had this talk yet, but I'm planning on telling them that if there is ever a home invasion during the night, get out of bed and on the floor (that should minimize the risk).

Take her out and let her shoot it...you'll find out quickly if she can handle it...no reason she shouldn't be able to...

You WANT over penetration of the bad guy, and into his friends...over penetration is the least of my worries during a home invasion.

i have to disagree....it is my biggest concern. I have three children, and having them hit defeats the purpose of defending my home. RETSUPT99, you are probably not in the mind set of having little ones behind those walls.

I think you've done well with the weapon and ammo selection. If you were really concerned with over penetration you could try #4 buck; it is still supposed to be pretty effective, and shouldn't penetrate quite as much. I don't know if it would be much better on recoil though, just take a couple boxes of each out onto the range and give them a try. Good luck!

It was new in the box. They got about a dozen of them in last week and I got the last one today that was still sealed in the box. Only one left is the one that was out as a demo. I'm pretty happy and can't wait until next weekend to go shoot it!

i have to disagree....it is my biggest concern. I have three children, and having them hit defeats the purpose of defending my home. RETSUPT99, you are probably not in the mind set of having little ones behind those walls.

Well, yes and no...
Our little one's now have little ones or their own, so you're correct in thinking that little ones are not at the top of a potential threat's background. But we do have neighbors and I must remain cognizant of who is where if I'm going to shoot...that's important. But isn't that what we have to do in any self-defense mode? Even in a parking lot intrusion, one must be aware of the things behind the target.
What about the BG's coming into the home, will they care about what's behind the target if shooting starts? In that case, I'm ending the threat and trying to remain aware of what's behind the target. It is certainly a magnified safety responsibility, and something that may only allow a second or two for decision making.
I do understand your point...

BTW, my plan is to put a sidesaddle on it with 3 slugs and 3 00 Magnums, so I will have choices if the low recoil doesn't do the job. truth be told, I'm hoping that familiar sound of a shotgun being racked will be enough to get rid of 80% of the intruders...anybody sticking around after hearing that won't leave without a confrontation, hence the reason for buying the shotgun.

BTW, my plan is to put a sidesaddle on it with 3 slugs and 3 00 Magnums, so I will have choices if the low recoil doesn't do the job. truth be told, I'm hoping that familiar sound of a shotgun being racked will be enough to get rid of 80% of the intruders...

1. Disabuse yourself of the notion that racking the slide of a pump shotgun will figure into a bad guy's thinking. Get rid of that thought RIGHT NOW.

2. Skip the magnum buckshot for defense use. It's a heavier payload (more pellets), not any higher velocity, and you pay a price with increased recoil. Your plan to have buck and slugs available on the sidesaddle is good, just stick to the low-recoil (LE/tactical) ammo. And do practice reloading your gun from the sidesaddle!

I appreciate all of the feedback tonight as I'm still soaking this all in. OK, here is the big confession....I'm 41 and have never fired a shotgun. I grew up in the country and I've shot thousands upon thousands of rounds through rifles and over the past year I've been shooting more with handguns, but this is my first shotgun. I'm glad to see that everyone thinks it's a good choice (man, I can't wait to shoot it).

That is good info on the magnums not having any extra velocity. At the store, they showed me a home defense shotgun shell (had a minuteman on the box) that has one very large pellet and a number of smaller ones. Anybody know what I'm talking about and what do you think of them?? I've always been VERY wary of "gimicky" ammo (like glazers, etc) but I don't know about this one. I didn't buy them as I know 00 is tried and true, but I did think I might search around and see what info I could find on them. After reading this tonight, I think I'm going to stick with the Federal low recoil 00.

"Buck & Ball"

Originally Posted by walrusjax

I appreciate all of the feedback tonight as I'm still soaking this all in. OK, here is the big confession....I'm 41 and have never fired a shotgun. I grew up in the country and I've shot thousands upon thousands of rounds through rifles and over the past year I've been shooting more with handguns, but this is my first shotgun. I'm glad to see that everyone thinks it's a good choice (man, I can't wait to shoot it).

That is good info on the magnums not having any extra velocity. At the store, they showed me a home defense shotgun shell (had a minuteman on the box) that has one very large pellet and a number of smaller ones. Anybody know what I'm talking about and what do you think of them?? I've always been VERY wary of "gimicky" ammo (like glazers, etc) but I don't know about this one. I didn't buy them as I know 00 is tried and true, but I did think I might search around and see what info I could find on them. After reading this tonight, I think I'm going to stick with the Federal low recoil 00.

Good choice on the shotgun.
I use Federal RR 00 buck in my HD shotgun and have been very satisfied with it. It holds a very tight pattern and seems to preform as intended. The only reason I would have for using standard or high velocity 00 would be for hunting or for longer range than what you would normally encounter in most HD situations.

The idea of "buck & ball" loading goes back at least as far as the Civil War and most likely before that. I have a reference for military contractors who provided the Union Army with paper cartridges that lists two "buck & ball" loads. These are listed as intended for use by cavalry.
The explanation of the load was that the larger ball is intended to force the smaller balls to separate and spread quickly to inflict collateral damage surrounding the intended target.